Bow & Arrow

A bow and arrow. The first weapon capable of non-hand-to-hand combat.

This Thursday is a lesser-known Jewish holiday; Lag B'omer. The day on which the great sage, kabbalist, and author of the Zohar (a chief kabbalistic text), Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi for short) passed away.

It is said that due to his piety, a rainbow never appeared during his lifetime. Gorgeous as they may be, Instagram worthy vibrant colors that last but a magical few moments, the rainbow has some less than idyllic symbolism. After the Great Flood, Hashem promised Noah that he would never again destroy everything. The rainbow would be the symbol, a reminder of this promise.

Thanks to Rashbi's influence on his generation, there was never any spiritual displeasure, and thus, never a need for a rainbow. So on the day that we celebrate his lifetime and achievements, the kids play with a bow (get it?) and arrow.

Kabbalah is the inner dimension of the Torah, the secret or less than obvious aspects, the deeper levels. Naturally, there must be some deep significance to the bow and arrow. 

As we navigate life there are two kinds of challenges we face. Obvious ones, such as my car running out of gas, have very direct solutions; go to your nearest gas station. In fact, life is a continuous series of these hand-to-hand sword combat style situations. The pantry is depleted, laundry needs to be washed, daughter needs to go to a ballet lesson, cell phone bill needs to be paid. And like little ninjas we navigate the maze of obstacles, knocking out as many opponents as we can.

However, there is another genre of challenges; the hidden ones. These lie in ambush, hiding behind a wall, pelting you with their munitions.  These challengers, behind their screen of uncertainty, leave you with no direct solutions. As they say, it's complicated. Hence the bow and arrow, a form of attack that can arch its way and take out the lurking issue.

With a bow and arrow, one first needs to pull back towards oneself, propelling the arrow to otherwise unreachable targets. When faced with a daunting dilemma, with an unclear way forward, the bow and arrow teaches us, pull back - retreat into your heart, soul, and essence, gathering that powerful divine energy from within, and empowering us to tackle any adversary.

Come shoot a bow and arrow at Thursday's Family BBQ at Leghorn Park, along with field games by Kinder Kickz!

Also, next Friday evening is a community Shabbat dinner at the new Chabad center. Hope you can join us!